May 23, 2019

The U.S.-China trade war is not new, and it's not going away

Hunker down, this trade war is not going away.  In fact, it's been around for a long time already.  China became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001 and while getting the benefits from being a member (indeed special consideration as a result of being classified a developing country), they have hardly played by the rules - unfairly protecting their markets, stealing intellectual property and manipulating their currency.  They have become rich not only at the expense of America but of many countries around the world.  They've leveraged that growth to expand their hegemony at home and abroad.

For decades no one stood up to them.  Abroad no country had the strength to do it alone, and without leadership from America, why would they try?  But prior presidents - Clinton, Bush or Obama - either ignored or outright facilitated China's rise.

China's government is communist. They are not good guys.  They are evil. They are preying upon foreign weakness and hoping to not have to deal with an America that stands up to them.  Enter Donald Trump.  He's breaking the Chinese domination model like a fever that has gone on for too long.  

It won't be easy.  It would have been a lot easier 5, 10 or 20 years ago but nothing was done.  President Trump is the literal bull in the China shop.  He's making the tough decisions about things like banning Huawei , which is clearly an espionage agent for the Chinese government.  He's in it for America for the long haul instead of a managed decline and ceding international superpower leadership to the Chinese.

Yes, tariffs hurt American consumers and producers.  They do the same in China.  But in the long run they help fairer trade and prevent China from breaking all the rules and not being called out for it.

I say that last part because I think even if president Trump gets a really good trade deal for America, China is going to cheat.  They're cheaters and they have been doing so since the communists took power.

The fact the the New York Times, South Korea and Breitbart all seem to be landing on the same page really says something important.  It says that this is a generational issue that really needs to be met head on, and now.   It's no time to be weak, because with each passing day that nothing is done, it gets harder to confront the Chinese government effectively.

The trade war, even if a deal gets signed and appeases the stock market, will continue.  It will continue as a cold economic war because it has to.  To not confront it is to abdicate our responsibility and to abdicate the future to a totalitarian, aggressive and corrupt China.

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